I didn’t get a chance to post a Sunday Sketch last week because my internet connection was being flaky. (It’s still flaky, but the technician is coming to fix it so it doesn’t randomly drop out on me anymore.)

That said, I’ve decided to post the sketch I was planning to publish last week and double up next week.

This week’s sketch is courtesy of Hannah (Daughters of the Sea, Book 1) by Kathryn Lasky.

While the story had a few shortcomings, I did enjoy the subject matter—mermaids. The moment I started reading it, I wanted to draw Hannah.

Since I already finished the book, I was able to take a bit more time with this drawing (as promised). I even added some color. Hope you enjoy!

It’s been a while since I last posted and I even missed my more detailed Sunday Sketch posting (which I have been excited to post all week). Unfortunately, this is due to my severely hiccuping internet connection; it’s been flakey for the past couple of weeks (in fact, this post is courtesy of my SmartPhone). I hope to have it all sorted by the end of the week…worst case scenario is that I’m switching to cable instead of DSL.

The old saying’s true: don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone. *sigh* I miss my (reliable) internet.

This week’s Sunday Sketch is a bit late because I’ve been swept up by the book for most of the day. And the weather has been delightfully cooperative—dark, eerie rainstorms.

I’m about halfway through and it has been smooth sailing. I’m soaking up the spooky—and oddly romantic—atmosphere and I’m surprised at how much I’ve learned about New Orleans. I’m mentally booking a trip.

For this week’s sketch, I decided on Anton Grey and Rebecca Brown because I’m liking their dynamic so far. (And it’s super quick because I’m anxious to get back to the book. )

Next week, I promise to spend a bit more time and create a more detailed sketch. For now, I’m off to read!

P.S. If you haven’t already entered, I’m holding a Book Giveaway—5 winners will receive a copy of this book.

Hello and happy Friday! I have some awesome news…I can giveaway a copy of Ruined by Paula Morris to five lucky winners.

In case you haven’t already heard about the book, here’s the synopsis:

When Rebecca Brown goes to New Orleans to stay with her voodoo-obsessed aunt, she finds the beautiful city haunted by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Rebecca is also startled to discover a haunting of a different kind: near a graveyard one night, amid the Spanish moss and beneath the moonlight, she meets a ghost girl named Lisette, who has been dead for 150 years. Lisette helps Rebecca unearth an ancient mystery in her aunt’s house, along with some troubling historical truths. Meanwhile, Rebecca must juggle adjusting to her snooty new prep school, developing a serious crush on a handsome boy, and dealing with an elite group of popular girls who may be linked to the ghostly mystery themselves.

This is just in time for the Halloween season and a great opportunity for those of you participating in the R.I.P. IV challenge to expand your reading pool.

Before we get to the fun part (i.e. what you need to do to enter), we need to establish a few ground rules:

1. You must have a U.S. mailing address – no P.O. boxes (if you’re international, you’re welcome to enter if you have a friend in the U.S. who is willing to receive the book and forward it to you).

2. If you are under 13 years of age, you must have your parent’s permission to enter.

With that established, to enter, leave a comment on this post answering the question: Have you ever been to New Orleans? If so, what was your favorite part of the trip. If not, what would you most like to see if you were to visit. (And should you live in N.O., tell us what visitors should make it a point to see).

For extra entries:
+1 if you’re subscribed via RSS
+1 if you tweet about this giveaway post
+2 if you post the link in your blog’s sidebar
+3 if you write a blog post about this giveaway
+3 if you’re subscribed to the newsletter

Make sure to mention any extra entries in your comment so I can tally them. The contest will run through 11:59PM EST on Friday September 25, 2009.

That’s it and good luck!

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here are the latest arrivals: The Hollow by Jessica Verday and Ash by Malinda Lo

The Hollow

544 pages; Simon Pulse; Pub. Sept. 1, 2009

First line: It was funny. At a time like this, I wasn’t supposed to be thinking […] *

Description:

When Abbey’s best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead?and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen’s funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey’s life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he’s the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again…but also special.

Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen’s betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

Ash

272 pages; Brown Young Readers; Pub. Sept. 1, 2009

First line: Aisling’s mother died at midsummer.

Description:

Pushed into indentured servitude for her stepmother in the City to pay off her father’s debts, Ash is consumed with grief. She misses her family and her happy life at the edge of the Wood where old magic used to linger in the air like fairy breath. Her only joy comes from the brief, stolen walks in the woods with the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean. Ash’s single, unspoken hope is that someday he might steal her away, as fairies are said to do.

But on the day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, from Kaisa she learns the art of the hunt, how to ride and track. Their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, but it grows and changes, and with it, Ash reawakens her capacity for love—and her desire to live.

Entrancing and romantic, Ash is an empowering retelling of Cinderella about choosing life and love over solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

I was so excited when these books arrived (both on the same day no less) because it means I have a couple more books to add to the RIP IV reading pool. The Hollow immediately went on my Want List^™ when I first read about it during a Waiting on Wednesday round. Plus, Ash will be my first foray into (contemporary) GLBT reading (I think…I can’t recall any other title off the top of my head, but I may have read something in high school) and I’m anxious to see how it’s done.

* I’m trying something new with the first line; rather than printing only the first full sentence, I’m only going to include the first line as printed in the book.